I head for the door, keys in hand, heart in my throat.
As I step outside into the mild California air, the sun is too bright, and the world looks too normal.
And all I can think is?—
How the hell am I supposed to choose between the dream I built my whole life around and the girl who’s slowly becoming my whole life now?
—
Carter picks the booth like he owns the place.
Back corner. Vinyl seats cracked from years of bodies sliding in and out. A window to the parking lot, like he’s still the quarterback who needs to see the field, even when the field is a diner off Ventura with a neon pie sign in the window.
He’s already there when I walk in.
Of course he is.
Carter Hayes doesn’t “arrive.” He materializes—elbows on the table, hoodie sleeves shoved up, that familiar smirk like the world is a game and he wrote the rules. Across from him sits a man I don’t know, posture straight, hands folded, eyes steady.
That one glance is enough to tell me everything.
Not a fan.
Not a friend.
Not a guy here to catch up.
A coach.
He looks like the kind of man who doesn’t waste words. Like he measures people in ten seconds and decides if they’re worth his time.
My pulse ticks up anyway.
Carter lifts two fingers in a lazy salute when he spots me. “Brooks.”
I slide into the booth opposite them, my knee stiff but mostly cooperative. I keep my face neutral like I’m not internally sprinting.
“Hayes,” I shoot back.
Carter’s grin widens, like he’s proud I’m still capable of mild hostility. “You’re late.”
“I’m on time.”
“You’re breathing,” he corrects. “That counts as late for you.”
I flip him off under the table.
The coach doesn’t react. Doesn’t even blink. Like he’s seen worse than two former teammates taking cheap shots over laminated menus.
Carter gestures to him. “This is Coach Pierce.”
Pierce nods once. “Logan.”
No hand out. No big smile. Just my name, like he’s reading it off a scouting report.
I nod back. “Coach.”
A waitress appears with three waters like she’s been trained for exactly this kind of tense male standoff. Carter flashes her a smile that could get him free pie. She blushes, scribbles something on her pad, and disappears.
